Connect Mikey Gatal
The Gift of Life => TRAVEL PHILIPPINES => Topic started by: rogergatal on November 12, 2008, 03:42:31 AM
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Remembering Leyte
shared by: Fred Natividad
Livonia, Michigan
I’ve never been to Leyte. I only heard of it in geography class. I heard more about it in the early days of the American liberation of the Philippines in WW II. I would not forget in my hometown one humorous story with the American Leyte landings as a background.
(http://www.tourisminthephilippines.com/city/Tacloban/leyte-landing-memorial/pictures/macarthur-monument-13.jpg)
San Juanico Bridge
In my hometown one character ran away from home when he was a teenager. When the US liberation army reached our town this character reappeared in town sporting a new U.S. army khaki uniform complete with the double bars of a captain and a Purple Heart on his chest. He regaled us kids with his exploits in Leyte and even showed a battle scar on his back.
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_102232319l.jpg)
Mac Arthur Park, landing of Gen.Mac Arthur at Leyte
What turned out to be the humor of it all was his blatant impersonation of a United States Army captain. People familiar with him laughed, especially his brother in law, whom he “outranked.” His brother in law was then a second lieutenant who graduated from the prestigious West Point-patterned Philippine Military Academy.
(http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0e/Douglas_MacArthur_lands_Leyte1.jpg/300px-Douglas_MacArthur_lands_Leyte1.jpg)
Tacloban City Capitol Building
(http://trialx.com/curetalk/wp-content/blogs.dir/7/files/2012/03/cities/Leyte__Philippines-3.jpg)
Sto. Nino Cathedral, Tacloban City
We kids did not know that the US army “captain” was really a shiftless character who survived in Manila during the war years as, among others, a bar bouncer and a cab driver. His “battle scar” was actually from a knife wound in a bar fight. When he appeared in town as a captain we didn’t notice as strange that he never reported to any American outfit that was still in town. When the Americans moved south to liberate Manila and the rest of the country this captain finally shed his army uniform and made a living driving jeepneys, that unique Philippine contraption of abandoned US military jeeps converted into tiny busses for hire garishly painted with what is called sarimanok art.
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_850958657l.jpg)
Palo Cathedral
(http://img186.imageshack.us/img186/3598/leyte3wf6.jpg)
Municipal Plaza in Palo, Leyte
In two generations Americans and Filipinos, except, of course, enthusiasts of military history, may no longer remember the island of Leyte in central Philippines as the site of a dramatic episode in the history of naval warfare. It was on October 20, 1944, when General Macarthur waded ashore on the island with 100,000 troops to begin the liberation of the Philippines from three brutal years of Japanese occupation.
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_351840840l.jpg)
Municipal Building Sta. Fe, Leyte Province
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_618430497l.jpg)
Working on the rice fields inn Sta. Fe
After the landings, American (with Australian assistance) and Japanese navies fought on Leyte Gulf for three days. In terms of men and ships the Battle of Leyte Gulf might well be considered the greatest naval battle in history, the magnitude of which may not happen again because in a future confrontation fewer but more sophisticated naval resources would be needed. Nuclear powered ships, for instance, would reduce the number of vulnerable oil tankers. State of the art submarines could unleash destruction more efficiently than obsolete battleships of WW II vintage…
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_612108376l.jpg)
Alang-alang Cathedral
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_842096533l.jpg)
Municipal Building of Alang-alang, Leyte Province
The future generation may not even remember, as many today may not even be aware, that General Macarthur’s “I Shall Return” promise to the Philippines, which he fulfilled upon landing on Leyte, was only a three-word part of a longer speech he delivered in Australia where he was ordered to escape from his beleaguered command in the Philippines, Bataan and Corregidor in particular.
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_946589338l.jpg)
Municipal Building of Jaro, Leyte Province
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_395004726l.jpg)
Downtown Jaro Municipality
Also, nobody would remember that those three words – even the speech itself – was crafted by Carlos P. Romulo a young Filipino editor of a prewar newspaper who was drafted into the USAFFE (US Armed Forces, Far East) by the general as his propagandist. In later years Romulo became the first Asian to win a Pulitzer Prize on his writings about the war.
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_740927608l.jpg)
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_815159894l.jpg)
Tunga Central Elementary School and the Buildings
More trivia at Leyte that many will forget or probably never knew to begin with...
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_998527457l.jpg)
Pono Elementary School, Carigara, Leyte
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_195343812l.jpg)
Downtown Carigara, Leyte
It was at the Battle of Leyte Gulf where a new Japanese tactic was used. Kamikaze pilots committed suicide by crashing their planes into Allied ships, marking the first time the U.S. navy suffered casualties from such a desperate tactic. It was a heavy price the Japanese paid for their emperor because just by themselves alone, more than 5,000 kamikazes died in the Leyte campaign on top of other Japanese non-kamikaze casualties. In stark contrast the Allies suffered 1,500 casualties.
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_578009134l.jpg)
Terminal and the junction to Biliran Island, Capoocan
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_470229455l.jpg)
Capoocan Municipal Building
Curiously, according to some reports, in spite of the superior number of American ships and planes, luck played a huge part in the American victory. Both combatant navies suffered from imperfect coordination. The Japanese successfully lured a major part of the American ships away from Leyte and due to failed communications nobody succeeded in calling the lured ships back into the Leyte action.
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_145154272l.jpg)
Municipal building of Kananga, Leyte Province
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_299599261l.jpg)
Downtown Kananga
Likewise, the Japanese, also due to imperfect coordination and faulty communication, lost their chance to inflict havoc on the weakly protected beaches where Macarthur landed.
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_692324916l.jpg)
Ormoc City Town Hall
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_393585704l.jpg)
Gaisano Department Store, Ormoc City
In my hometown few will remember, too, how a shiftless character once sported a US army officer’s uniform complete with the double bars of a captain and a Purple Heart and a “battle” scar.
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_740139367l.jpg)
Ormoc Villa Hotel, Ormoc City
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_739789533l.jpg)
Inside of the Ormoc Villa Hotel
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_206480052l.jpg)
Downtown Albuera, Leyte
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_616595742l.jpg)
Bay-bay Leyte Town Hall
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_635192553l.jpg)
Bay-bay Leyte Old Church
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_536649969l.jpg)
Inopacan Cathedral
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_335954359l.jpg)
Inopacan Municpal Office way far from the Highway
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_676990386l.jpg)
Hindang Public Market
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_810274325l.jpg)
Hindang Cathedral
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_715602712l.jpg)
Hilongos Central Elementary School
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_862980168l.jpg)
Hilongos National Vocational School
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_939240986l.jpg)
Bato School of Fisheries
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_266151663l.jpg)
Bato Leyte Public Market
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_489935859l.jpg)
Downtown Matalom, Leyte Province
(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_478852900l.jpg)
Matalom Municipality, Leyte Province
Fred Natividad
Livonia, Michigan
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(http://photos-p.friendster.com/photos/63/71/53671736/1_424812011l.jpg)
very nice!
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peaceful
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hope joey is reading this,i am looking forward to visit this place someday.
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WoW, Mikey! These brings back a lot of memories. I drove the whole Island of Leyte last 2006, Also drove all of Bohol & Negros. It's a whole lot of Adventure everybody should try. Nice Islands, even nicer People!
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sama ako sa inyo ha?
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WoW, Mikey! These brings back a lot of memories. I drove the whole Island of Leyte last 2006, Also drove all of Bohol & Negros. It's a whole lot of Adventure everybody should try. Nice Islands, even nicer People!
but i should go to leyte with someone i know
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can I go with you too? ;)
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can I go with you too? ;)
taga leyte ka ba?
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taga leyte ka ba?
hindi pa....pero gusto ko na rin pupunta doon... ;D
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hindi pa....pero gusto ko na rin pupunta doon... ;D
eh di mas masaya,sana may tour guide tayo? nagbabasa kaya si joey dito?
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eh di mas masaya,sana may tour guide tayo? nagbabasa kaya si joey dito?
chur yan!...mukha namang nagustohan nya dito eh! ;D
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chur yan!...mukha namang nagustohan nya dito eh! ;D
sasama kaya sya sa atin?
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sasama kaya sya sa atin?
pagpapayag ang honeylove nya at sa mga tsiketing nya! tyak...lilibrehin din nya tayo... ;D
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pagpapayag ang honeylove nya at sa mga tsiketing nya! tyak...lilibrehin din nya tayo... ;D
binata pa ba to?
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binata pa ba to?
parang hindi na ata.....sabi nya kasi may dalawang doktor na syang pinakamamahal.... ;D
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parang hindi na ata.....sabi nya kasi may dalawang doktor na syang pinakamamahal.... ;D
ilang taon na ba si joey?mukhang bata pa kasi tingnan
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ilang taon na ba si joey?mukhang bata pa kasi tingnan
di ko nga din alam bakit hanggang ngayon.....................................yan pa rin ang hitsura nya... ;D
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di ko nga din alam bakit hanggang ngayon.....................................yan pa rin ang hitsura nya... ;D
baka may secreto syang iniinum?
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baka may secreto syang iniinum?
ang alam ko lang noon pa.......................................151 pure lang ang secreto nya.... ;D
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ang alam ko lang noon pa.......................................151 pure lang ang secreto nya.... ;D
ano ba yan ha?
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ano ba yan ha?
tanungin natin sya bukas.....baka naman may makadiskobre pang mga bata dyan.... :o ;D
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tanungin natin sya bukas.....baka naman may makadiskobre pang mga bata dyan.... :o ;D
wala na sigurong bata sa mga oras na to,21 na sya di ba?
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Oh Leyte.. I haven't visited you yet.. Good for my tita they go to and fro Leyte. I want to pass by San Juanico bridge...
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trending lagi ang Leyte karon?
I’ve never been to Leyte. I only heard of it in geography class. I heard more about it in the early days of the American liberation of the Philippines in WW II. I would not forget in my hometown one humorous story with the American Leyte landings as a background.
(http://www.tourisminthephilippines.com/city/Tacloban/leyte-landing-memorial/pictures/macarthur-monument-13.jpg)
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astigin!!
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puntahan natin
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wow pwede ako dyan.
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trending lagi ang Leyte karon?
I’ve never been to Leyte. I only heard of it in geography class. I heard more about it in the early days of the American liberation of the Philippines in WW II. I would not forget in my hometown one humorous story with the American Leyte landings as a background.
(http://www.tourisminthephilippines.com/city/Tacloban/leyte-landing-memorial/pictures/macarthur-monument-13.jpg)
wow. sana makapunta jan someday
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sama kami..wow!
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wow. sana makapunta jan someday
sama ako